Daily Republican., 1887-06-04
TWO GRIMES By ONE HAND.
Robett 9. Hall Cuts ON Hts Mistress
Head and Outs HIS Own Throat-sh
IL Found Ten Minutes Later.

'Se->s A~nAAy AAOh AoA pso4y Oh - Ak1oy .
,pat.ared her brains over the room W itb
pistol balls and then siAshed o wide, |
deep cash In his own throat. She Is |
dead and he will die.
1t is strange story, the ha,f of which |
cannot be told. Only the dead and the
dying know 1t all. and 1t is too late for
esther to speak. The two had been liv
Ing together q life Of crime, and this 10 |
Its end, but many OF the details are
Bhrouded in dense darkness that per.
haps will never be fathomed.
The scene Of the bloody deed was laid
In the little second.story back room OF
the dwelling Of Mrs. Laura Moser, s38l
North Tenth street. Here the couple
engaged board week ago. representing
that they were man and wife. They
did not live pesceably together, but
they troubled NO one but each other, go
they were allowed to stay, and 1t was
not known to the nervous little land
lady uatil on Friday that 1t WAS any.
thing worse than . discordant husband
and wife that occupied one of her
rooms. Then "Mrs. Hail." ~ she was
called, returned to the house after hav
ing borrowed one Of Mrs. Moser's bon
nets and spending the night elsewhere.
She borrowed the bonnet, she said, be-
cause her husband had locked up all OF
her belongings.
A pistol shotl
Mrs. Rivers, or Mrs. Hall, as she was
called, had fallen face forward ON the
floor, and from Q gaping, powder.
stained wound In her forehead blood
and bratrs were oozing upon the already
smeared and clotted floor. But this wss
not all. Her death was made doubly
sure by the fend who called himself
her husband. Hehad severed her head
almost from her body by one deep,
heavy stroke which cut through he.
throat and to the back of her neck,
leaving only the spinal column and .
shred of tissue to hold them together.
On her head still remained the bonnet
which she had borrowed from her land
lady the night before
Near by lay Hall. He wore his night
clothes, and had apparently just step.
ped from bis bed when the woman en-.
tered the room and he took her life. He
had made preparation enough for both
their deaths. By bis side lay blood
stained razor. It was with this that he
had cut the bead Of his paramour from
her body. Then he slashed his own
throat open with the same weapon, and
lay with his head upon little pile OF
bed clothing. which had apparently
been previously arranged for the pur.
pose. Almost within reach Of his hand
WAS the cheap revolver with which he
had shot his supposed wife, while q
the mantel told that he had no lack OF
weapons for his deadly deeds
The nearest physician, DR.. @. n.
Gardner, was called in. He did no,
need . second glance to see that the
woman was dead. Indeed unprofes
sional eyes had decided that before
When he turned his attention to tht
murderer he found that he was aliv,
and conscious, for he responded to Z
command to put out his tongue.
The man was removed to the Germal
Hospital, where every effort was mad
to see that he should not cheat the gal
lows Of Its fruit.
In the room were found singular evi
| dences of the cool, careful premedjta
| tiOn Of the N urderer. He had writer
| q letter to his father, John M. P. Hal
OF st. Louis, No, In which he half toll
of the crime which he intended to com
mit, and added that he inoloyed hi
picture, taken few hours previous t,
his crime. The fact, however, that thi
letter was dated on the 18th of MAJ
would seem to indicate that the con
templated crime was postponed to ,
later date than was at first intended.
Another very carefully.written letter
bearing date Of May 20, was addressed
to the Coroner, in which he says th,
crime has been under contemplate,
for at least five weeks. He also venti
lates therein his inner life, how h.
wishes his body disposed of, etc an,
asks the Coroner to consider 1t . case O
"Ispid transit," the only remedy for
troubled mind and broken heart.
The stage name Of Burton, which th
| murderer gave, assists to uncover o Dol
tion Of the past history of the wretohe
pair.
The woman's name Is Lillian e. Riv
ers, and on May 10th an Investigation
was made by the police of the attemp
of one James w. Reynolds to kill hi
wife by sbooting her at Eleventh AM
Mount Vernon streets, after which h
attempted suicide. That man was j
W. Rivers, and he was the husband O
the woman who met her death Frids,
at ths hands OF he- paramour. Reynoid
was his stage name, for no, too, was al
actor. Ee attempted to kill her becaus
he had heard Of her intimacy Will
Hall, and 1t Ia also known that he ha,
threatened Halls life.
| Still there are unexplained element
| in the affair. His reference, In his let
ter to the Coroner, to the woman as hi
wife, and to his attempt to reform he
when he found that she was doini
| wrong, would seem to indicate tina
after all she WAS his wife and no
Rivers. But this supposition ia rem
dered untenable by the fact that she hal
two children, Frank and Fannie Rivers
both OF whom are nearly grown. They
had boarded until recently with Mrs
Carrie Snyder, ut 1863 North Eleventh
street, where IL is said that she wen
the night previous to her death. Blu
she did not see the children, for they
had just left with their father for tn,
west. Hall seems to have known this
as he left q letter addressed to JAIME
W. Rivers, Topeka, Kansas.
Among the other things found In tn
room of the guilty couple was . "mar
riaRe contract" between the two dstel
May 10. In 1t they pledged themselve
to live together and be true to eaol
other the same as though there hat
been q marriage ceremony. This wa
signed by Hall with his stage name U
Burton, which loads to the suppositiol
that he intended to disregard the con
tract at some time In the future, or a
leas: meant to leave room to do 80 If h
| chose.
Scott Excursion
to Andalusia next Monday, (Juae g.,
Uu ha ~ a. &c M